{"title":"Digital Economy, Green Growth, and Global Energy Transition","authors":"Anwar Khan, Chuanwang Sun","doi":"10.1111/cwe.70009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.70009","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study used four United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7) indicators as dependent variables and examined the effects of green growth and the digital economy on these indicators for a panel of 72 countries between 2003 and 2019. Using the generalized method of moments, the analysis showed that green growth and the digital economy have driven the renewable energy transition in a sustainable development framework. Foreign direct investment was found to have negatively moderated the relationships between green growth and the SDG7 indicators, and between the digital economy and the SDG7 indicators. The results remained consistent in signs when alternative variable proxies and estimators were applied. Heterogeneity analysis indicated that green growth and the digital economy affected SDG7 positively across different income groups and regions. These results suggest that policymakers should focus on green growth and digitalization while considering the role of foreign direct investment inflows.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"34 1","pages":"173-197"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146007772","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Designing Effective Provincial Environmental Policies for a Fair Low-carbon Transition in the Cement Industry","authors":"Juan Li, Yibo Li, Mei Sun, Yanzi Guo","doi":"10.1111/cwe.70008","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.70008","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Designing policies for the cement industry's low-carbon transition is challenging due to provincial differences. This study combined a multiregional computable general equilibrium model with the energy–economy–environment–sustainability–strategy–stability (3E3S) method to assess the effects of policy scenarios involving carbon taxes and emissions trading schemes on provincial economies, the environment, carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology, urban–rural income gap, the construction industry, and 3E3S subsystems. The results show that both the impacts of carbon tax and emissions trading schemes on provincial GDP are negative. As tax rates rise, carbon intensity in the cement industry decreases, boosting CCS technology adoption, especially in provinces where cement production is concentrated. These policies also intensify the urban–rural income gap, although tax rebates can partially offset their negative effects, and influence the construction industry through the supply chain. Variations in economic levels, technological development, and urban–rural income gap among provinces significantly influence the coordinated development of the 3E3S subsystems.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"34 1","pages":"256-288"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146016275","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kai Li, Yifang Xiao, Shaozhou Qi, Xunpeng Shi, Kun Qin
{"title":"“Climateflation” in China: Could Rising Temperatures Overheat the Economy?","authors":"Kai Li, Yifang Xiao, Shaozhou Qi, Xunpeng Shi, Kun Qin","doi":"10.1111/cwe.70014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.70014","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examined the inflationary effects of rising temperatures by linking monthly climate variables with consumer price data for 30 large- and medium-sized Chinese cities from January 2004 to December 2019. Lagged one-period temperature had a significant positive effect on current-month price changes. The cumulative estimates indicated that each 1 °C increase during the sample period was associated with a 0.057 percent rise in prices, implying that temperature shocks contributed to consumer price inflation. Mechanism tests showed that higher temperatures reduced output growth and raised production costs, and that greater economic policy uncertainty amplified these effects. When different temperature bins were used as explanatory variables, prices increased linearly with temperatures up to 25–30 °C, then declined at higher temperatures. Temperature effects were stronger in poorer or cooler regions. The findings suggest the need to strengthen monetary policy responses, expand mitigation efforts, and develop climate-adaptive urban systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"34 1","pages":"108-137"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/cwe.70014","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146007766","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Optimal Climate Policy Mix for Green Transition: A Growth Model with Endogenous Labor Supply","authors":"Ying Tung Chan, Qiang Ji, Dayong Zhang","doi":"10.1111/cwe.70015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.70015","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Existing literature supports combining green research and development (R&D) subsidies and carbon taxation for economic sustainability, but often assumes an exogenous labor supply. This overlooks key interactions, especially regarding existing subsidies for traditional R&D sectors, common in developing countries focused on growth. This paper introduces a variety-expansion endogenous growth model featuring endogenous labor supply and stochastic components. It analyzes how labor supply endogeneity and the level of existing brown sector support influence the optimal mix of green R&D subsidies and carbon taxation, deriving closed-form solutions: when labor supply is endogenous, the relationship between the optimal carbon tax and green R&D subsidies can be complementary or substitutive, depending on the level of labor disutility. It also investigates how the optimal climate policy mix should change when a social planner emphasizes a faster green transition. The model is calibrated using data from China, and numerical results validate the paper's theoretical insights.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"34 1","pages":"3-40"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146007768","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Decentralization and Pollution: Evidence from the Town Power Expansion Reform in China","authors":"Fei Peng, Shibiao Zhou, Chen Feng, Ruipeng Tan","doi":"10.1111/cwe.70007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.70007","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examined the environmental consequences of administrative decentralization by focusing on China's town power expansion reform as a quasi-natural experiment. Using firm-level panel data for Zhejiang province from 2001 to 2013, it employed a difference-in-differences approach to assess the causal impact of decentralization at the town level on firm pollution emissions. The results indicated that this form of decentralization led to a significant 19.1 percent increase in firm-level pollution, primarily driven by intensified economic competition and tax competition, expanded firms' output, and declined energy efficiency. These findings highlight the complex relationship between administrative decentralization and environmental governance, underscoring the potential unintended consequences of granting more autonomy to lower-level governments. This study thereby contributes to the debate on the relationship between decentralization and pollution.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"34 1","pages":"138-172"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146007767","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The Impact of Temperature Changes on International Trade","authors":"Yanyan Ouyang, Dabin Weng, Mengmeng Guo, Liqiang Chen","doi":"10.1111/cwe.70010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.70010","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The irreversible trend of rising temperatures is accelerating the reshaping of the international trade landscape. This study empirically examined the impact of temperature variation on the scale of international trade using data on Chinese listed firms' import and export and annual temperature changes in Chinese cities and trade partners from 2000 to 2016. The results indicated that temperature changes in firms' headquarter cities and in trade partners were significantly and negatively associated with the scale of imports and exports. Firms' operational capabilities in home country and meteorological disasters in trade partners were key channels through which temperature variation affected trade outcomes. The negative effects of temperature fluctuations in both locations were stronger for heat-sensitive firms, non-state-owned firms, firms with high research and development investment, and firms trading with low-income partners. These findings contribute to a deeper understanding of the relationship between climate volatility and international trade.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"34 1","pages":"224-255"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146007770","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Domestic Environmental Demand and Global Value Chains","authors":"Qi Zhang, Xuefeng Wang, Deyong Song","doi":"10.1111/cwe.70006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.70006","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This study examined how domestic environmental demand can influence countries' participation in global value chains (GVCs) in the environmental sector, including waste management, pollution control, and environmental protection services. Using a crosscountry dataset, a measure of environmental demand was constructed based on population exposure to PM<sub>2.5</sub> concentrations exceeding 10 μg/m<sup>3</sup>. The results show that a 1 percent increase in relative domestic environmental demand increased GVC participation, raising relative production length by 0.125 percent in forward-linked GVCs and by 0.175 percent in backward-linked GVCs. Two mechanisms were identified: an intermediate climbing effect, through which higher domestic demand promoted upstream integration, and an induced innovation effect, through which larger market scale stimulated technological advancement. These findings indicate that countries with substantial environmental pressures and large domestic markets can leverage domestic environmental demand to enhance their positions in global environmental value chains and support green development.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"34 1","pages":"75-107"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2026-01-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146016395","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Digital Transformation, Anti-monopoly Policy, and Corporate Income Disparity","authors":"Yunpeng Fan, Zhengnan Liu, Liansheng Zheng","doi":"10.1111/cwe.70004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.70004","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Digital transformation has far-reaching implications for income distribution within and across firms. This study explored the influence of digital transformation and anti-monopoly policy on firm income disparity. A digital transformation index was constructed by improving dictionary-based methods with natural language processing algorithms, and data from Chinese A-share listed companies between 2009 and 2023 were analyzed. The results showed that: (i) digital transformation reduced intrafirm income disparity through digital influence and digital human capital, with stronger effects in firms facing fewer financing constraints or paying lower cash dividends; (ii) this disparity-reducing effect was weaker among leading firms, although the Anti-monopoly Guidelines strengthened it; (iii) digital transformation increased interfirm income disparity within industries by fostering monopolies in technology and talent acquisition; and (iv) the Anti-monopoly Guidelines promoted market competition and enhanced the spillover effects of technological innovation, thereby mitigating the disparity-increasing effect.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 6","pages":"132-172"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145652586","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"China's Low Interest Rate Environment and Corporate Default Risk","authors":"Wenli Lu, Shengrong Lu","doi":"10.1111/cwe.12618","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/cwe.12618","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Low interest rates are a prominent feature of China's current financial landscape. Using panel data on Chinese listed companies from 2016 to 2023 and a difference-indifferences model, this study showed that low interest rates can exacerbate corporate default risk, particularly among highly leveraged, highly financialized, and zombie firms. In such an environment, firms hold less cash and display higher levels of excessive debt and overinvestment, both of which can increase default risk significantly. The study further examined the role of macro-prudential policies in mitigating risks arising from accommodative monetary policy and confirmed the effectiveness of regulation targeting the lending supply side. These findings provide empirical evidence of the adverse effects of China's low interest rate environment and offer insights into the development of enterprise risks and the implementation of preventive measures.</p>","PeriodicalId":51603,"journal":{"name":"China & World Economy","volume":"33 6","pages":"246-278"},"PeriodicalIF":3.6,"publicationDate":"2025-12-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145652581","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"经济学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}